A New Father
by kzlovers
Summary: This is a what if concept for what if during being attacked on Fastoon, Kaden gives his son Ratchet to Alister so someone can take care of him?
1. Chapter 1

Birthday one-shot for shadowgirlzforever. I hope you enjoy it!

A Ratchet and Clank Fanfic

Genre: hurt/comfort

Warnings: some death and war scenes

Hope you all enjoy!

A New Father

Bombs and explosives could be seen going off everywhere. What was once a place of peaceful homes for skilled inventors and bright minds looked now like a warzone, which really was the perfect term for the set of current events. To help with, blood splatters and screams filled the air and battle ground.

With random Lombaxes running in various directions in a scarce, a certain Lombax was running as fast as his feet could take him. There were two things going through his mind as he ran. One was survival as he ran to avoid explosives and gunfire. Two was to get to his home. His wife. He needed to find her before it was too late.

Seeing his destination ahead, slight relief filled him, for he hoped to be reunited with his wife and son soon. Gaining on the house quickly, it did not take him long to get there. However, parts of the house were on fire.

Knowing it could be dangerous, he ran in regardless. Finding his family was the most essential priority, for his life would mean nothing without them. The inside of the house could be described as a maze; dodging random items in the house such as furniture and then also avoiding falling debris and flames throughout the house was quite a challenge.

The way the house was built, one would enter the house and end up in the living room. That's where the furniture was and most of the flames, since cloth can easily become inflamed. After that was the kitchen which was not too engulfed in flame but large smoke clouds covered the room. To the right was a hallway and a stair case at the end.

Not thinking twice, the Lombax ran up the stairs. Once he looked through all doors on both sides and saw nothing until he got to the last door on the left. What was seen was not pleasant. A blood trial lead to the bed and a female Lombax could be seen lying on its surface.

"Cara!" The male yelled as he ran into the room. He wrapped his arms lightly around her as tears started to run down his cheeks.

"…K…Kaden?" a faint whisper was heard.

Not much more was said between them before she passed. The female Lombax had explained how she had been outside taking care of the garden when the war ships and tanks arrived. She was shot quickly since being prepared for war was the last thing on her mind. Trying her best to forget the pain, Cara had gone up the stairs to get their son before falling on the bed. Somehow, he had remained asleep the whole time. Of course, he had not taken his nap yesterday so the baby slept a lot today.

Kaden was deeply wounded, he knew, but mourning would have to wait. The father took the baby from his wife's embrace before leaving the house.

It was painful, really, for when he was out of the house, it just fell to the ground. Turning his head slowly to fully capture the war brought so much sadness. All of his friends, family, and chances at new memories with them were gone. In the course of a few hours, he lost everything. The one person he had left was his baby son, Ratchet.

However, he could not just leave this war. He had to help defend the home and Lombaxes that he cared about deeply. What about Ratchet?...

Kaden then thought of an idea. Again, he ran as fast as his feet would take him while trying to avoid the horrors of the war. Who he was looking for just lived down the street some which was good since so there was less chance of dying during travel.

Once at the once white house, which now contained black burnt marks all over, he ran around the side of the house and went straight to the back yard. Just as expected, the Lombax he was looking for was getting his ship ready.

"Alister!"

The white Lombax turned to the sound of his name being called to see his best friend, well… once best friend.

"Kaden?" He inquired, "What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be leaving with the other Lombaxes?"

The yellow Lombax shook his head, "No. I'm staying here to fight the war."

"Kaden…" the general paused a moment, "Kaden, I'm so sorr…"

"Stop," Kaden interrupted, "You told me earlier and it won't change the anger I feel right now."

It was then his turn to pause. Kaden then continued, "Alister, I have a favor to ask of you."

His eyes widened in surprise, but regardless, he said, "Of course Kaden. I'll do anything."

A nod was done before the younger of the two walked over to the general. When standing in front of him, he lifted his son up slightly.

"I need you to take my son."

"W-What? But he is yours, and what about Cara?!"

"She's dead." Was stated bluntly.

Azimuth frowned before Kaden continued, "I'm going to stay and fight this war. I do not know if I will make it. Since you have been exiled and are not allowed to help us in any way, you would be the best choice for keeping my son safe."

"But Kaden…"

Interrupting once more, the yellow Lombax replied, "Please Alister. You are the only one who I feel can do this. Cara is dead. If I don't live then I will need someone to take care of him… If you are truly sorry, then do this for me, please. Even though I am angry with you, I know you did not mean for anyone to get hurt, let alone die. I still trust you despite your mistake."

Azimuth was speechless but knew he could not refuse, not his best friend. Ratchet was held up once more and Alister took him in his arms.

"I have to go. Please take care of him Alister."

The general nodded, "I will."

A sad smile formed on Kaden's face before he turned away and left. A single tear slid down the general cheek but was ignored as he finished getting the last of his belongings in the ship such as food and clothing. It did not take long to finish the packing process.

He then jumped into the ship. The white Lombax could not believe what he had done; both to his friends and his home. Another tear rolled down his right cheek. However, it was not felt long before something else was felt on his face.

Looking down, he saw a little Ratchet touching his face where the tear had been. Smiling, he knew what needed to be done. The ship was started and he took off.

The air was just as bad as the ground. He knew he had to get out safe… and alive. Readying his thrusts and blaster, shots were taken at enemy ships. Shots were fired back of course, but he had been driving ships for a long time so this was no problem when dodging. It was harder, however, since ships were everywhere and some of their shots were bigger than others. Regardless, he kept himself calm and fired away.

It was beneficial in the end when he finally left the atmosphere of the planet. The site was like a horror to him; being able to see all the explosives being set into the planet to destroy more and more cities. Tearing his eyes away, Azimuth left and started his travel through deep space.

The trip had been surprisingly quiet so far. Of course, Ratchet had been in and out of sleep; completely oblivious to what had just occurred. When he was awake, he would just start sucking on his pacifier to his heart's content, like there wasn't a bother in the world. It was quiet cute really.

Turning on the radio quietly, he turned through stations in hopes of hearing news about Fastoon but there was nothing. The reporters must not have made it yet, or had died while trying.

Alister stopped the channel surfing for a moment to avoid a meteor. When he was about to continue, he stopped because an idea occurred as he listened to the station.

"Hello all outsiders," the announcer greeted full-heartedly, "I greet you from the planet of Torren IV. As many know, this is what some may call a 'junk planet'. However, whatever one may discard, we will gladly take if there is no more need. After all, our saying here on Torren IV is that one man's junk is another man's treasure. For more information on how…"

The rest was tuned out as the general thought, 'One man's junk is another man's treasure. The junk planet Torren IV. Hm…' he then looked down at the baby Lombax in his arms briefly before lifting his eyes up to concentrate on his flying. 'That may be a good start. I may be able to figure out a place to stay at, and take care of Ratchet. After all, I am an exile and it will soon be known. I doubt many places would want to give me a decent place to live or even a job. It's the only chance I have.' Coming to a decision, Alister sets the coordinates and heads for Torren IV.

When arriving, he landed on a cliff. The purpose was because he saw a robot head while getting closer to the ground that might be a good place to live if done up right.

The ship was landed before Azimuth jumped out of the ship with a baby Ratchet in his arms. The hoover boots he wore were turned on and then he left the ship to explore the nearby robot head.

It was quiet large, and it also sat up on a cliff so and intruders could be seen on the ground and in the sky. The head itself had plenty of space inside of it. According to the looks and rooms present in the head already, it looked as if someone used to live here; such as the presence of a bathroom, bedrooms, and a kitchen were installed already. However, the place was covered in an inch of dust at least, so no one has been here for a few years at least.

Alister smiled and looked down at Ratchet. Though his eyes were sad, his smile was sincere. "This is going to be your new home. Though it doesn't look great now, it will." Ratchet just looked up with those big eyes of his and one could tell he was trying to smile without losing the pacifier. The general could help but chuckle and smile more. "I'm going to take good care of you Ratchet."

*Hey everyone! This is a birthday present for shadowgirlzforever. I hope you liked it! Sorry it was kind of sad but I tried to give it a good ending. Thank you to all who read it. I hope others liked this as well. Happy Birthday!


	2. Chapter 2

A Request for HotRedSparkles on deviantart.

A Ratchet and Clank Fanfic

Genre: hurt/comfort

Warnings: references to war scenes/death

Hope you all enjoy!

A New Father

Ch. 2

During the last few weeks, the life of General Alister Azimuth changed forever. His home was on Fastoon along with other Lombaxes such as himself. However, that quickly changed as a range of warships invaded the planet and destroyed everything, and everyone, they could find, under the commands of Tachyon.

Now, this white Lombax lived on what many called a Junk Planet due to the attack being his fault to begin with. The general had been too trusting, and because of this trust, ended up being the cause for his whole planet's destruction.

Having to admit to these crimes would kill him inside one day. No, not from the other races or other worlds, but the day he would have to explain this all to his best friend's son, his new adopted son…

Several days were spent by the radio as he waited for any kind of contact from Kaden. Hopes for his survival from the war were slim that first day as reports stated the Lombax defeat, and grew smaller by the day. The outsider as some called Alister continued to wait. After close to a week, he assumed the worst, and stopped waiting by the radio.

He had other things to worrying about. Some good news was that it was easy to find supplies to fix up a beaten up home on a junk planet. None of the supplies were new and nice looking by any means, but they were effective and free.

Rooms were cleaned up to make the place a better home for the Lombaxes. The kitchen actually looked like a kitchen but just a little worn out looking instead of looking like a century or so old. Alister managed to get his hands on a bed for himself and a baby crib for tiny Ratchet. There was even enough luck that some baby toys were found. All looked dirty and beat-up, but the small ball of yellow fur was not one to complain as he treasured them as if they were new toys. Furniture for the rest of the house had not given much difficulty either.

Two problems occurred that Azimuth had a bit more of a challenge handling. One was getting food. Luckily, he did seem to find a way to make the process easier. He could not leave the planet because there was Ratchet he had to watch. However, the locals were weary of this newcomer and had heard stories about him, which unfortunately, were true. The stories were of the fall of Fastoon being the newcomer's fault.

To solve this predicament, Alister a lot of times wore a cloak to hide himself and would either trade some of the junk he found if it was not needed and could be worth something, or would give bolts, which could be found randomly out in the desert. Either one was taken positively for the most part so he stopped having as many difficulties in requiring nourishment.

The last problem was one the older Lombax still had a hard time fixing, for it was something he could not really fix. Ratchet was usually pretty good about playing with his toys, eating, and just being overall happy, but there are times, especially in the night, when he cries. Though he is young, Ratchet did know how to mumble a few words, and those words consisted of Mommy and Daddy. Seeing the child cry out for his parents that were no longer alive just broke the general's heart. He could not help but blame himself.

There was one night at a time at half past one when whimpers and sobs came from to room next to Alister's. He inwardly groaned but showed no verbal complaint as he rose from his bed with half lidded eyes. Feet dragged themselves down the hall until he reached the baby room and opened the door.

Flicking on a nightlight, Ratchet was wake and crying more than he had a few seconds ago. He was quickly picked up into the white furred arms before walking around in circles in that tiny room.

This did not put the baby at ease as his cries became louder. Usually, walking around a bit helped calm him when he was fussy, but not this night. Alister then decided to walk out of the room and try something else.

He walked into the living room before sliding a glass door open and stepped out onto an outdoor landing, or porch as some might call it. It looked out to the desert and rock mountains that stretched as far as the eye could see. Light flickers of yellow hues indicated the village that Alister went to for food was not but a mere few miles.

The sky was brighter tonight, for it was almost a full moon. It was around three-fourths of the way there, but even that help brighten up the night sky considerably.

"Ratchet, what do you think?" Azimuth asked, "You can see the desert so clearly."

The baby did kind of a gurgle in response but seemed slightly distracted by something else. He then noticed those bright emerald eyes looking up at the sky. Following his example, the white Lombax also looked. He could see many constellations and some he even knew to be planets instead of stars.

"They are something else, aren't they? When you are older, I promise to take you up there so you can get a better look at the stars and planets, with your own eyes."

This caused a coo to come from Ratchet, as if he really understood what the older was saying. Alister knew Ratchet was too young to really understand everything around him, but he planned on keeping that promise, to both Kaden and the one he just made to the little one, no matter what.

After star gazing for a bit longer, Alister decided to head in. However, the yellow furred Lombax was still not sleepy so the older decided to try something. He turned one of the rocking chairs in the living room a little to the left before scooting it to the glass door. While Ratchet continued to fascinate himself with the stars in the sky, Alister got to sit and rock them both.

It did not take long before red and emerald eyes drooped and then fully closed in sleep. This was one of the first times Alister truly felt his role of being a father figure, and to be honest, he actually quite enjoyed it.

*Yes! It's finished. This was originally meant to be a one-shot, but when I took requests a while back, a request like this was asked and I thought it would go well with the one-shot of New Father that I wrote, so I just continued it. This was a request for HotRedSparkles on deviantart. I hope you liked it! Thank you all for reading and I hope everyone enjoyed!


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